Lesson 14 — Line Breaks <br>

Learning Goals

• Understand what the <br> tag does.
• Learn when to use line breaks vs paragraphs.
• Recognize common mistakes with <br>.

Part 1 — What is <br>?

The <br> element inserts a **line break** inside text, moving following content to the next line. It is an **empty element** (no closing tag).

Part 2 — Example

<p>Roses are red.<br>
Violets are blue.<br>
I am learning HTML.</p>

Result: Each sentence appears on its own line inside the paragraph.

Part 3 — Best Practices

• Use <br> for poems, addresses, or content where single line breaks are meaningful.
• Use <p> for separate paragraphs.
• Don’t add multiple <br> for spacing — use CSS margins instead.

Part 4 — Common Mistakes

• ❌ Using <br> repeatedly to create blank space.
• ❌ Adding a closing tag (</br>) — it doesn’t exist.
• ❌ Overusing breaks instead of semantic structure.

Quick Quiz

1. What does <br> do?
2. True/False: You should use <br> to create vertical spacing.
3. Should you use <br> or <p> for a new paragraph?

Mini Project — Short Poem

Create a page with a short poem using <br> for each new line. Then try rewriting it with <p> tags and compare the difference.

Lesson 14 Dictionary

Terms introduced in this lesson.

B

br (<br>)

An empty element that forces a line break inside text.

L

Line Break

A place where text continues on the next line without starting a new paragraph.

P

Paragraph (<p>)

A block-level element for separate text sections. Preferred over <br> for full paragraphs.